Safe zones in tracking device environments

ABSTRACT

A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/401,597, filed May 2, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,475,328, whichapplication is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/208,565,filed Dec. 4, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,325,478, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/887,274, filed Feb. 2,2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,176,699, which application is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 15/387,243, filed Dec. 21, 2016, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,922,531 all of which are incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to tracking devices, and morespecifically, to using locations known to a user to improve userexperience with tracking devices.

Electronic tracking devices have created numerous ways for people totrack the locations of people and/or objects. For example, a user canuse GPS technology to track a device remotely or determine a location ofthe user. In another example, a user can attach a tracking device to animportant object, such as keys or a wallet, to more quickly locate theobject (e.g., if it becomes lost).

However, if a person or object is located in a safe zone (a locationwhere, even if a tracking device is outside of the communicative rangeof a mobile device or a user, the tracking device is not considered“lost”), users can be informed that a corresponding tracking device islocated within the safe zone. In such instances, a user may wish tominimize the number of notifications or messages presented to the userabout the tracking device, thereby improve the user's experience withthe tracking device.

SUMMARY

A tracking system determines whether a tracking device is located withina safe zone based on whether the tracking device satisfies a set of safeconditions. In some embodiments, the set of safe conditions can beuser-selected or user-defined, while in other embodiments, the set ofsafe conditions can be determined based on data analytics. If thetracking device is in a safe zone (or “safe” hereinafter), the trackingsystem may deprioritize, reduce, or disable notifications for thetracking device to the user. If the tracking device is determined topotentially be lost, and is determined to not be safe, the trackingsystem generates and sends a notification to the user of the trackingdevice indicating that the tracking device may be lost.

One safe condition can be the location of the tracking device within oneor more safe zones. A safe zone may be fixed (e.g., inside a building orwithin a threshold distance of a landmark), and can include one or moreof a geographic location or boundary, a threshold distance from thegeographic location or boundary, and a time window. Alternatively, asafe zone may be mobile (e.g., a vehicle) and can include a containerobject. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g.,geographically and/or temporally) the tracking device is determined tobe safe. The set of safe conditions may be specific to each trackingdevice. A user can enable or disable safe conditions for each trackingdevice.

In one embodiment, a safe zone or tracking device may be associated withan extension time period and an extension distance. The tracking deviceis safe if the tracking device is within an extension distance away fromthe safe zone or if the tracking device leaves the safe zone, butreturns to the safe zone within the extension time period.

In one embodiment, a safe zone or tracking device may be associated witha delay time. As used herein, a “delay time” refers to an amount of timeafter a tracking device leaves a safe zone before a user is notifiedthat the tracking device may be lost or has left the safe zone. Thedelay time may be based on the type of tracking device and itsimportance to the user. For example, objects of more importance may beassociated with shorter delay times and vice versa. In some embodiments,the delay time is based on distance of the tracking device from a safezone, an amount of time the tracking device is outside of a safe zone,or some combination thereof.

The tracking system may generate and display (for instance, on a displayof a client device) a user interface displaying a status of a trackingdevice including an icon and/or color, wherein the icon or color isbased on whether the tracking device satisfies one or more safeconditions. In one embodiment, the tracking system displays all trackingdevices via a user interface to the user, and can display a first iconor color for tracking devices determined to be located in safe zones anda second icon or color for tracking devices determined to be locatedoutside of safe zones.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tracking system environment in which atracking device can operate, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example tracking system for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user mobile device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example community mobile device for use in atracking system environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example tracking device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example safe zone environment for trackingdevices, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a process for locating a trackingdevice, according to one embodiment.

The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention forpurposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readilyrecognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments ofthe structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed withoutdeparting from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Environment Overview

Embodiments described herein detail functionality associated with atracking device. A user can attach a tracking device to or enclose thetracking device within an object, such as a wallet, keys, a car, a bike,a pet, or any other object that the user wants to track. The user canthen use a mobile device (e.g., by way of a software applicationinstalled on the mobile device) or other device or service to track thetracking device and corresponding object. For example, the mobile devicecan perform a local search for a tracking device attached to a near-byobject. However, in situations where the user is unable to locate thetracking device using their own mobile device (e.g., if the trackingdevice is beyond a distance within which the mobile device and thetracking device can communicate), the user can leverage the capabilitiesof a community of users of a tracking device system.

In particular, a tracking system (also referred to herein as a “cloudserver” or simply “server”) can maintain user profiles associated with aplurality of users of the tracking device system. The tracking systemcan associate each user within the system with one or more trackingdevices associated the user (e.g., tracking devices that the user haspurchased and is using to track objects owned by the user). If theuser's object becomes lost or stolen, the user can send an indicationthat the tracking device is lost to the tracking system, which is incommunication with one or more mobile devices associated with thecommunity of users in communication with the system. The tracking systemcan set a flag indicating the tracking device is lost. When one of acommunity of mobile devices that are scanning for nearby trackingdevices and providing updated locations to the tracking systemidentifies a flagged tracking device, the tracking system can associatethe received location with the flagged tracking device, and relay thelocation to a user of the tracking device, thereby enabling the user tolocate the lost tracking device.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tracking system environment in which atracking device can operate, according to one embodiment. Theenvironment of FIG. 1 includes a tracking system 100 communicativelycoupled to a mobile device 102 associated with the user 103 via a firstnetwork 108. The tracking system 100 is also communicatively coupled toa plurality of community mobile devices 104 a through 104 n(collectively referred to herein as “community mobile devices 104”)associated with a plurality of users 105 a through 105 n of the trackingsystem 100 (collectively referred to herein as “community users 105”)via the first network 108. As will be explained in more detail below,the tracking system 100 can allow the user 103 to manage and/or locate atracking device 106 associated with the user 103. In some embodiments,the tracking system 100 leverages the capabilities of community mobiledevices 104 to locate the tracking device 106 if the location of thetracking device is unknown to the user 103 and beyond the capabilitiesof mobile device 102 to track. In some configurations, the user 103 mayown and register multiple tracking devices 106. Although FIG. 1illustrates a particular arrangement of the tracking system 100, mobiledevice 102, community mobile devices 104, and tracking device 106,various additional arrangements are possible.

In some configurations, the user 103 may be part of the community ofusers 105. Further, one or more users 105 may own and register one ormore tracking devices 106. Thus, any one of the users within thecommunity of users 105 can communicate with tracking system 100 andleverage the capabilities of the community of users 105 in addition tothe user 103 to locate a tracking device 106 that has been lost.

The tracking system 100, mobile device 102, and plurality of communitymobile devices 104 may communicate using any communication platforms andtechnologies suitable for transporting data and/or communicationsignals, including known communication technologies, devices, media, andprotocols supportive of remote data communications.

In certain embodiments, the tracking system 100, mobile device 102, andcommunity mobile devices 104 may communicate via a network 108, whichmay include one or more networks, including, but not limited to,wireless networks (e.g., wireless communication networks), mobiletelephone networks (e.g., cellular telephone networks), closedcommunication networks, open communication networks, satellite networks,navigation networks, broadband networks, narrowband networks, theInternet, local area networks, and any other networks capable ofcarrying data and/or communications signals between the tracking system100, mobile device 102, and community mobile devices 104. The mobiledevice 102 and community of mobile devices 104 may also be incommunication with a tracking device 106 via a second network 110. Thesecond network 110 may be a similar or different type of network as thefirst network 108. In some embodiments, the second network 110 comprisesa wireless network with a limited communication range, such as aBluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless network. In someconfigurations, the second network 110 is a point-to-point networkincluding the tracking device 106 and one or more mobile devices thatfall within a proximity of the tracking device 106. In such embodiments,the mobile device 102 and community mobile devices 104 may only be ableto communicate with the tracking device 106 if they are within a closeproximity to the tracking device, though in other embodiments, thetracking device can use long-distance communication functionality (forinstance, a GSM transceiver) to communicate with either a mobile device102/104 or the tracking system 100 at any distance. In someconfigurations, the mobile device 102 and one or more community mobiledevices 104 may each be associated with multiple tracking devicesassociated with various users.

As mentioned above, FIG. 1 illustrates the mobile device 102 associatedwith the user 103. The mobile device 102 can be configured to performone or more functions described herein with respect to locating trackingdevices (e.g., tracking device 106). For example, the mobile device 102can receive input from the user 103 representative of information aboutthe user 103 and information about a tracking device 106. The mobiledevice 102 may then provide the received user information, trackingdevice information, and/or information about the mobile device 102 tothe tracking system 100. Accordingly, the tracking system 100 is able toassociate the mobile device 102, the user 103, and/or the trackingdevice 106 with one another. In some embodiments, the mobile device 102can communicate with the tracking device 106 and provide informationregarding the location of the tracking device to the user 103. Forexample, the mobile device 102 can detect a communication signal fromthe tracking device 106 (e.g., by way of second network 110) as well asa strength of the communication signal or other measure of proximity todetermine an approximate distance between the mobile device 102 and thetracking device 106. The mobile device 102 can then provide thisinformation to the user 103 (e.g., by way of one or more graphical userinterfaces) to assist the user 103 to locate the tracking device 106.Accordingly, the user 103 can use the mobile device 102 to track andlocate the tracking device 106 and a corresponding object associatedwith the tracking device 106. If the mobile device 102 is located beyondthe immediate range of communication with the tracking device 106 (e.g.,beyond the second network 110), the mobile device 102 can be configuredto send an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost to the trackingsystem 100, requesting assistance in finding the tracking device. Themobile device 102 can send an indication of a lost device in response toa command from the user 103. For example, once the user 103 hasdetermined that the tracking device 106 is lost, the user can provideuser input to the mobile device 102 (e.g., by way of a graphical userinterface), requesting that the mobile device 102 send an indicationthat the tracking device 106 is lost to the tracking system 100. In someexamples, the lost indication can include information identifying theuser 103 (e.g., name, username, authentication information), informationassociated with the mobile device 102 (e.g., a mobile phone number),information associated with the tracking device (e.g., a unique trackingdevice identifier), or a location of the user (e.g., a GPS location ofthe mobile device 102 at the time the request is sent).

The tracking system 100 can be configured to provide a number offeatures and services associated with the tracking and management of aplurality of tracking devices and/or users associated with the trackingdevices. For example, the tracking system 100 can manage informationand/or user profiles associated with user 103 and community users 105.In particular, the tracking system 100 can manage information associatedwith the tracking device 106 and/or other tracking devices associatedwith the user 103 and/or the community users 105.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can receive an indicationthat the tracking device 106 is lost from the mobile device 102. Thetracking system 100 can then process the indication in order to help theuser 103 find the tracking device 106. For example, the tracking system100 can leverage the capabilities of the community mobile devices 104 tohelp find the tracking device 106. In particular, the tracking system100 may set a flag for a tracking device 106 to indicate that thetracking device 106 lost and monitor communications received from thecommunity mobile devices 104 indicating the location of one or moretracking devices 106 within proximity of the community mobile devices104. The tracking system 100 can determine whether a specific locationis associated with the lost tracking device 106 and provide any locationupdates associated with the tracking device 106 to the mobile device102. In one example, the tracking system may receive constant updates oftracking device 106 locations regardless of whether a tracking device106 is lost and provide a most recent updated location of the trackingdevice 106 in response to receiving an indication that the trackingdevice 106 is lost.

In some configurations, the tracking system 100 can send a locationrequest associated with the tracking device 106 to each of the communitymobile devices 104. The location request can include any instructionsand/or information necessary for the community mobile devices 106 tofind the tracking device 102. For example, the location request caninclude a unique identifier associated with the tracking device 106 thatcan be used by the community mobile devices 104 to identify the trackingdevice 106. Accordingly, if one of the community mobile devices 104detects a communication from the tracking device 106 (e.g., if thecommunity mobile device 104 is within range or moves within range of thecommunication capabilities of the tracking device 106 and receives asignal from the tracking device 106 including or associated with theunique identifier associated with the tracking device 106), thecommunity mobile device 104 can inform the tracking system 100. Usingthe information received from the community mobile devices 104, thetracking system 100 can inform the user (e.g., by way of the mobiledevice 102) of a potential location of the tracking device 106.

As shown in FIG. 1 and as mentioned above, the tracking system 100 cancommunicate with a plurality of community mobile devices 104 associatedwith corresponding community users 105. For example, an implementationmay include a first community mobile device 104 a associated with afirst community user 105 a, a second community mobile device 104 bassociated with a second community user 105 b, and additionalcommunication mobile devices associated with additional community usersup to an nth community mobile device 104 n associated with an nthcommunity user 105 n. The community mobile devices 104 may also includefunctionality that enables each community mobile device 104 to identifya tracking device 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device104. In one example, a first community mobile device 104 a withinproximity of a tracking device 106 can communicate with the trackingdevice 106, identify the tracking device 106 (e.g., using a uniqueidentifier associated with the tracking device 106), and/or detect alocation associated with the tracking device 106 (e.g., a location ofthe first mobile community device 104 a at the time of the communicationwith the tracking device 106). This information can be used to provideupdated locations and/or respond to a location request from the trackingsystem 100 regarding the tracking device 106. In some embodiments, thesteps performed by the first community mobile device 104 a can be hiddenfrom the first community user 105 a. Accordingly, the first communitymobile device 104 a can assist in locating the tracking device 106without bother and without the knowledge of the first community user 105a.

As mentioned above, the tracking system 100 can assist a user 103 inlocating a tracking device 106. The tracking device may be a chip, tile,tag, or other device for housing circuitry and that may be attached toor enclosed within an object such as a wallet, keys, purse, car, orother object that the user 103 may track. Additionally, the trackingdevice 106 may include a speaker for emitting a sound and/or atransmitter for broadcasting a beacon. In one configuration, thetracking device 106 may periodically transmit a beacon signal that maybe detected using a nearby mobile device 102 and/or community mobiledevice 104. In some configurations, the tracking device 106 broadcasts abeacon at regular intervals (e.g., one second intervals) that may bedetected from a nearby mobile device (e.g., community mobile device104). The strength of the signal emitted from the tracking device 106may be used to determine a degree of proximity to the mobile device 102or community mobile device 104 that detects the signal. For example, ahigher strength signal would indicate a close proximity between thetracking device 106 and the mobile device 102 and a lower strengthsignal would indicate a more remote proximity between the trackingdevice 106 and the mobile device 102, though in some embodiments, thetracking device 106 can intentionally vary the transmission strength ofthe beacon signal. In some cases, the strength of signal or absence of asignal may be used to indicate that a tracking device 106 is lost.

System Overview

FIG. 2 illustrates an example tracking system for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the trackingsystem 100 may include, but is not limited to, an association manager204, a tracking device location manager 206, a tracking device powermanager 207, and a data manager 208, each of which may be incommunication with one another using any suitable communicationtechnologies. It will be recognized that although managers 204-208 areshown to be separate in FIG. 2, any of the managers 204-208 may becombined into fewer managers, such as into a single manager, or dividedinto more managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

The association manager 204 may be configured to receive, transmit,obtain, and/or update information about a user 103 and/or informationabout one or more specific tracking devices (e.g., tracking device 106).In some configurations, the association manager 204 may associateinformation associated with a user 103 with information associated witha tracking device 106. For example, user information and trackinginformation may be obtained by way of a mobile device 102, and theassociation manager 204 may be used to link the user information andtracking information. The association between user 103 and trackingdevice 106 may be used for authentication purposes, or for storing userinformation, tracking device information, permissions, or otherinformation about a user 103 and/or tracking device 106 in a database.

The tracking system 100 also includes a tracking device location manager206. The tracking device location manager 206 may receive and process anindication that the tracking device 106 is lost from a mobile device(e.g., mobile device 102 or community mobile devices 104). For example,the tracking system 100 may receive a lost indication from a mobiledevice 102 indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. The trackingdevice location manager 206 may set a flag on a database (e.g., trackerdatabase 212) indicating that the tracking device 106 is lost. Thetracking device location manager 206 may also query a database todetermine tracking information corresponding to the associated user 103and/or tracking device 106. The tracking system 100 may obtain trackingdevice information and provide the tracking device information or otherinformation associated with the tracking device 106 to a plurality ofcommunity mobile devices 104 to be on alert for the lost or unavailabletracking device 106.

The tracking device location manager 206 may also receive a locationfrom one or more community mobile devices 104 that detect the trackingdevice 106, for instance in response to the community mobile devicereceiving a beacon signal transmitted by the tracking device 106,without the tracking device 106 having been previously marked as lost.In such embodiments, a user corresponding to the mobile device 102 canrequest a most recent location associated with the tracking device fromthe tracking system 100, and the location manager 206 can provide thelocation received from the community mobile device for display by themobile device 102. In some embodiments, the location manager 206provides the location of the tracking device 106 received from acommunity mobile device either automatically (for instance if thetracking device 106 is marked as lost) or at the request of a user ofthe mobile device 102 (for instance, via an application on the mobiledevice 102). The location manager 206 can provide a location of atracking device 106 to a mobile device 102 via a text message, pushnotification, application notification, automated voice message, or anyother suitable form of communication.

The tracking device location manager 206 may further manage providingindications about whether a tracking device 106 is lost or no longerlost. For example, as discussed above, the tracking device locationmanager 206 may provide a location request to the community of mobiledevices 104 indicating that a tracking device 106 is lost. Additionally,upon location of the tracking device 106 by the user 103 or by one ofthe community of users 105, the tracking device location manager 206 mayprovide an indication to the user 103, community user 105, or trackingsystem 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found, thus removingany flags associated with a tracking device and/or canceling anylocation request previously provided to the community of users 105. Forexample, where a user 103 sends an indication that the tracking device106 is lost to the tracking system 100 and later finds the trackingdevice 106, the mobile device 102 may provide an indication to thetracking system 100 that the tracking device 106 has been found. Inresponse, the tracking device location manager 206 may remove a flagindicating that the tracking device 106 is lost and/or provide anupdated indication to the community of users 105 that the trackingdevice 106 has been found, thus canceling any instructions associatedwith the previously provided location request. In some configurations,the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may beprovided automatically upon the mobile device 102 detecting the trackingdevice 106 within a proximity of the mobile device 102. Alternatively,the notification that the tracking device 106 has been found may beprovided by the user 103 via user input on the mobile device 102. Inanother example, a known user (e.g., a friend or family member) withwhom the tracking device 106 has been shared may provide an indicationthat the tracking device 106 has been found.

The tracking system 100 additionally includes a tracking device safezone manager 207. The tracking device safe zone manager 207 can storeand manage safe zones for a tracking device 106 provided by the user 103or learned by the tracking system 100 (for instance, based on analysisof historical data associated with the tracking device). As noted above,safe zones can be associated with parameters related to location andtime. The safe zone manager 207 can store parameters associated withsafe zones in the safe zone database 218, described below.

The tracking system 100 additionally includes a data manager 208. Thedata manager 208 may store and manage information associated with users,mobile devices, tracking devices, permissions, location requests, andother data that may be stored and/or maintained in a database related toperforming location services of tracking devices. As shown, the datamanager 208 may include, but is not limited to, a user database 210, atracker database 212, permissions data 214, location request data 216,and safe zone database 218. It will be recognized that althoughdatabases and data within the data manager 208 are shown to be separatein FIG. 2, any of the user database 210, tracker database 212,permissions data 214, location request data 216, and safe zone database218 may be combined in a single database or manager, or divided intomore databases or managers as may serve a particular embodiment.

The data manager 208 may include the user database 210. The userdatabase 210 may be used to store data related to various users. Forexample, the user database 210 may include data about the user 103 aswell as data about each user 105 in a community of users 105. Thecommunity of users 105 may include any user that has provided userinformation to the tracking system 100 via a mobile device 102, 104 orother electronic device. The user information may be associated with oneor more respective tracking devices 106, or may be stored without anassociation to a particular tracking device. For example, a communityuser 105 may provide user information and permit performance of trackingfunctions on the community mobile device 104 without owning or beingassociated with a tracking device 106. The user database 210 may alsoinclude information about one or more mobile devices or other electronicdevices associated with a particular user.

The data manager 208 may also include a tracker database 212. Thetracker database 212 may be used to store data related to trackingdevices. For example, the tracker database 212 may include tracking datafor any tracking device 106 that has been registered with the trackingsystem 100. Tracking data may include unique tracker identifications(IDs) associated with individual tracking devices 106. Tracker IDs maybe associated with a respective user 103. Tracker IDs may also beassociated with multiple users. Additionally, the tracker database 212may include any flags or other indications associated with whether aspecific tracking device 106 has been indicated as lost and whether anyincoming communications with regard to that tracking device 106 shouldbe processed based on the presence of a flag associated with thetracking device 106.

The data manager 208 may further include permissions data 214 andlocation request data 216. Permissions data 214 may include levels ofpermissions associated with a particular user 103 and/or tracking device106. For example, permissions data 214 may include additional users thathave been indicated as sharing a tracking device 106, or who have beengiven permission to locate or receive a location of a tracking device106. Location request data 216 may include information related to alocation request or a lost indication received from the user 103 via amobile device 102. The data manager 208 may further include a safe zonedatabase 218. The safe zone database 218 includes a list of safe zonesassociated with a particular user 103 and/or tracking device 106, forinstance a geographic location or boundary associated with a safe zone,a time period for which the safe zone is enabled, an extension timeperiod or extension distance associated with a safe zone, a delay timeassociated with a safe zone or tracking device, and the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example user mobile device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, the mobiledevice 102 may include, but is not limited to, a user interface manager302, a location request manager 304, a database manager 306, and atracking manager 308, each of which may be in communication with oneanother using any suitable communication technologies. It will berecognized that although managers 302-308 are shown to be separate inFIG. 3, any of the managers 302-308 may be combined into fewer managers,such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as mayserve a particular embodiment.

As will be explained in more detail below, the mobile device 102includes the user interface manager 302. The user interface manager 302may facilitate providing the user 103 access to data on a trackingsystem 100 and/or providing data to the tracking system 100. Further,the user interface manager 302 provides a user interface by which theuser 103 may communicate with tracking system 100 and/or tracking device106 via mobile device 102. For example, the user interface manager 302can facilitate providing safe zones defined by the user 103 for thetracking device 106 via mobile device 102 to the tracking system 100.

The mobile device 102 may also include a location request manager 304.The location request manager 304 may receive and process a request inputto the mobile device 102 to send an indication that a tracking device106 is lost to a tracking system 100. For example, the user 103 mayprovide an indication that a tracking device 106 is lost, unreachable,or otherwise unavailable from the mobile device 102 via the userinterface manager 302, and the location request manager 304 may processthe lost indication and provide any necessary data to the trackingsystem 100 for processing and relaying a location request to other users105 over a network 108. In some configurations, an indication that atracking device 106 is lost is provided via user input. Alternatively,the indication may be transmitted automatically in response to themobile device 102 determining that a tracking device 106 is lost.

In addition, the location request manager 304 can request a location ofthe tracking device 106 without the tracking device 106 being identifiedas lost. For instance, a user can access a tracking device locationfeature of an application running on the mobile device 102 (for example,via the user interface manager 302), and the location request manager304 can request a most recent location of the tracking device 106 fromthe tracking system 100. The location request manager 304 can receivethe most recent location from the tracking system 100, and can displaythe most recent location via the user interface manager 302.

The mobile device 102 may also include a database manager 306. Thedatabase manager 306 may maintain data related to the user 103, trackingdevice 106, permissions, or other data that may be used for locating atracking device 106 and/or providing a request to a tracking system 100for locating one or more tracking devices 106 associated with the user103. Further, the database manager 306 may maintain any information thatmay be accessed using any other manager on the mobile device 102.

The mobile device 102 may further include a tracking manager 308. Thetracking manager 308 may include a tracking application (e.g., asoftware application) for communicating with and locating a trackingdevice 106 associated with the user 103. For example, the trackingmanager 308 may be one configuration of a tracking application installedon the mobile device 102 that provides the functionality for locating atracking device 106 and/or requesting location of a tracking device 106using a tracking system 100 and/or a plurality of community mobiledevices 104. As shown, the tracking manager 308 may include, but is notlimited to, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) manager 310, a persistencemanager 312, a local files manager 314, a motion manager 316, a securestorage manager 318, a settings manager 320, a location manager 322, anetwork manager 324, a notification manager 326, a sound manager 328, afriends manager 330, a photo manager 332, an authentication manager 334,and a device manager 336. Thus, the tracking manager 308 may perform anyof the functions associated with managers 310-338, described inadditional detail below.

The BLE manager 310 may be used to manage communication with one or moretracking devices 106. The persistence manager 312 may be used to storelogical schema information that is relevant to the tracking manager 308.The local files manager 314 may be responsible for managing all filesthat are input or output from the mobile device 102. The motion manager316 may be responsible for all motion management required by thetracking manager 308. The secure storage manager 318 may be responsiblefor storage of secure data, including information such as passwords andprivate data that would be accessed through this sub-system. Thesettings manager 320 may be responsible for managing settings used bythe tracking manager 308. Such settings may be user controlled (e.g.,user settings) or defined by the tracking manager 308 for internal use(e.g., application settings) by a mobile device 102 and/or the trackingsystem 100. The location manager 322 may be responsible for all locationtracking done by the tracking manager 308. For example, the locationmanager 322 may manage access to the location services of the mobiledevice 102 and works in conjunction with other managers to persist data.The network manager 324 may be responsible for all Internetcommunications from the tracking manager 308. For example, the networkmanager 324 may mediate all Internet API calls for the tracking manager308. The notification manager 326 may be responsible for managing localand push notifications required by the tracking manager 308. The soundmanager 328 may be responsible for playback of audio cues by thetracking manager 308. The friends manager 330 may be responsible formanaging access to contacts and the user's social graph. The photomanager 332 may be responsible for capturing and managing photos used bythe tracking manager 308. The authentication manager 334 may beresponsible for handling the authentication (e.g., sign in or login) ofusers. The authentication manager 334 may also include registration(e.g., sign up) functionality. The authentication manager 334 furthercoordinates with other managers to achieve registration functionality.The device manager 336 may be responsible for managing the devicesdiscovered by the tracking manager 308. The device manager 336 mayfurther store and/or maintain the logic for algorithms related to devicediscovery and update.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example community mobile device for use in atracking system environment, according to one embodiment. As shown, thecommunity mobile device 104 may include, but is not limited to, a userinterface manager 402, a tracking device manager 404, a database manager406, and a tracking manager 408, each of which may be in communicationwith one another using any suitable communication technologies. The userinterface manager 402, database manager 406, and tracking manager 408illustrated in FIG. 4 may include similar features and functionality asthe user interface manager 302, database manager 306, and trackingmanager 308 described above in connection with FIG. 3. It will berecognized that although managers 402-408 are shown to be separate inFIG. 4, any of the managers 402-408 may be combined into fewer managers,such as into a single manager, or divided into more managers as mayserve a particular embodiment.

The community mobile device 104 may include a tracking device manager404. The tracking device manager 404 may facilitate scanning for nearbytracking devices 106. In some configurations, the tracking devicemanager 404 can continuously or periodically scan (e.g., once persecond) for nearby tracking devices 106. The tracking device manager 404may determine whether to provide an updated location of the nearbytracking device 106 to the tracking system 100. In some configurations,the tracking device manager 404 provides a location of a nearby trackingdevice 106 automatically. Alternatively, the tracking device manager 404may determine whether the location of the tracking device 106 has beenrecently updated, and may determine whether to provide an updatedlocation based on the last time a location of the tracking device 106has been updated (e.g., by the community mobile device 104). Forexample, where the community mobile device 104 has provided a recentupdate of the location of a tracking device 106, the tracking devicemanager 404 may decide to wait a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5minutes) before providing an updated location of the same trackingdevice 106.

In one configuration, the tracking device manager 404 may receive andprocess a location request or other information relayed to the communitymobile device 104 by the tracking system 100. For example, the trackingdevice manager 404 may receive an indication of a tracking device 106that has been indicated as lost, and provide a location of the trackingdevice 106 if it comes within proximity of the community mobile device104. In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 isconstantly scanning nearby areas to determine if there is a trackingdevice 106 within a proximity of the community mobile device 104.Therefore, where a tracking device 106 that matches information providedby the tracking system 100 (e.g., from the location request) comeswithin proximity of the community mobile device 104, the tracking devicemanager 404 may generate and transmit a response to the location requestto the tracking system 100, which may be provided to the user 103associated with the tracking device 106. Further, generating andtransmitting the response to the tracking request may be conditioned onthe status of the tracking device 106 being flagged as lost by themobile device 102 and/or the tracking system 100.

The tracking device manager 404 may additionally provide otherinformation to the tracking system 100 in response to receiving thetracking request. For example, in addition to providing a location ofthe community mobile device 104, the tracking device manager may providea signal strength associated with the location to indicate a level ofproximity to the location of the community mobile device 104 provided tothe user 103. For example, if a signal strength is high, the locationprovided to the user 103 is likely to be more accurate than a locationaccompanied by a low signal strength. This may provide additionalinformation that the user 103 may find useful in determining the preciselocation of tracking device 106.

As described above, the tracking device manager 404 may determinewhether to send a location within the proximity of the tracking device106 to the tracking system 100. The determination of whether to send alocation to the tracking system 100 may be based on a variety offactors. For example, a tracking device manager 404 may determine tosend a location of the tracking device 106 to a tracking system 100based on whether the detected tracking device 106 has been indicated aslost or if a tracking request has been provided to the community mobiledevice 104 for the particular tracking device 106. In someconfigurations, the community mobile device 104 may send an update of alocation of a tracking device 106 even if the tracking device 106 is notassociated with a current tracking request or if the tracking device 106is not indicated as lost. For example, where the location of a trackingdevice 106 has not been updated for a predetermined period of time, thecommunity mobile device 104 may provide an update of a tracking devicelocation to the tracking system 100, regardless of whether a trackingrequest has been received.

In some configurations, the community mobile device 104 may includeadditional features. For example, the community mobile device 104 mayallow a tracking system 100 to snap and download a photo using photofunctionality of the community mobile device 104. In someconfigurations, this may be an opt-in feature by which a community user105 permits a tracking system 100 to take a snap-shot and possiblyprovide a visual image of an area within a proximity of the trackingdevice 106.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example tracking device for use in a trackingsystem environment, according to one embodiment. The tracking device 106of FIG. 5 includes an interface 502, a transceiver 504, a controller506, one or more sensors 508, and a GPS unit 510. The transceiver 504 isa hardware circuit capable of both transmitting and receiving signals.It should be noted that in other embodiments, the tracking device 106includes fewer, additional, or different components than thoseillustrated in FIG. 5. For instance, in some embodiments, the trackingdevice 106 does not include a GPS unit 510.

The interface 502 provides a communicative interface between thetracking device 106 and one or more other devices, such as a mobiledevice 102. For instance, the interface 502 can instruct the transceiver504 to output beacon signals as described above (for example,periodically or in response to a triggering event, such as a detectedmovement of the tracking device 106). The interface 502 can, in responseto the receiving of signals by the transceiver 504 from, for instance,the mobile device 102, manage a pairing protocol to establish acommunicative connection between the tracking device 106 and the mobiledevice 102. As noted above, the transceiver 504 can include a BLEreceiver and transmitter, though in other embodiments, the transceiver504 enables communications via other suitable wireless connectionprotocols (such as WiFi, Global System for Mobile Communications or“GSM”, LTE, and the like). It should be noted that while variousexamples herein describe the transceiver 504 as a GSM receiver andtransmitter, this is done for the purposes of brevity, and it should beemphasized that the transceiver 504 can communicate over any otheravailable wireless communication protocol according to the embodimentsdescribed herein.

The controller 506 is a hardware chip that configures the trackingdevice 106 to perform one or more functions or to operate in one oroperating modes or states. For instance, the controller 506 canconfigure the interval at which the transceiver broadcasts beaconsignals, can authorize or prevent particular devices from pairing withthe tracking device 106 based on information received from the devicesand permissions stored at the tracking device, can increase or decreasethe transmission strength of signals broadcasted by the transceiver, canconfigure the interface to emit a ringtone or flash an LED light, canenable or disable various tracking device sensors, can enable or disablea tracking device GPS unit, can enable or disable communicativefunctionality of the tracking device 106 (such as a GSM transmitter andreceiver), can configure the tracking device into a sleep mode or awakemode, can configure the tracking device into a power preservation mode,and the like. The controller 506 can configure the tracking device toperform functions or to operate in a particular operating mode based oninformation or signals received from a device paired with or attemptingto pair with the tracking device 106, based on an operating state orconnection state of the tracking device 106, based on user-selectedsettings, based on information stored at the tracking device 106, basedon a detected location of the tracking device 106, based on historicalbehavior of the tracking device 106 (such as a previous length of timethe tracking device was configured to operate in a particular mode),based on information received from the sensors 508 or the GPS unit 510,or based on any other suitable criteria.

The controller 506 can configure the tracking device 106 to operate inone or more power preservation modes. Each power preservation mode isassociated with a set of tracking device settings. For instance, thecontroller 506 can configure the tracking device 106 to operateaccording to factory default power saving mode that includes a set oftracking device settings pre-installed on the tracking device. Likewise,the controller 506 may receive a set of tracking device settingsassociated with a user-defined power preservation mode from a user 103through the user interface manager 302 of a mobile device 102.

The sensors 508 can include motion sensors (such as gyroscopes oraccelerators), altimeters, orientation sensors, proximity sensors, lightsensors, or any other suitable sensor configured to detect anenvironment of the tracking device 106, a state of the tracking device106, a movement or location of the tracking device 106, and the like.The sensors 508 are configured to provide information detected by thesensors to the controller 506. The GPS unit 510 is configured to detecta location of the tracking device 106 based on received GPS signals, andis configured to provide detected locations to the controller 506.

Tracking Device Safe Zone Overview

A tracking system 100 determines whether a tracking device 106 is safe,and therefore not lost. A tracking device 106 can be determined to besafe if a set of safe conditions is satisfied. In some embodiments, theset of safe conditions can be user-selected or defined, while in otherembodiments, the set of safe conditions can be determined based on ananalysis of historical location and time data associated with a trackingdevice. For instance, if a tracking device is historically locatedwithin a user's home, or if the tracking device is historically locatedwithin a geographic boundary associated with a user's place of workduring the hours of 9 am to 5 pm, a safe zone can be automaticallydefined by the tracking system 100 for these places and times. In oneembodiment, a safe zone can be determined based on a probability that atracking device is in a given location at a certain time. The trackingdevice 106 may be determined to be safe if the probability is higherthan a threshold probability, which can be selected by the user orautomatically defined by the tracking system 100. Continuing with aprevious example, if the tracking device 106 is located within ageographic boundary associated with the user's place of work during workthe work hours of 9 am to 5 pm and the user sets a safe zone thresholdprobability to 85%, the tracking device 106 is considered safe if theprobability that the tracking device is located within the geographicboundary is greater than 85%. The tracking device 106 may have a lowerprobability of being in a given location at a certain time the greaterthe distance from the given location and the greater the difference intime from a time that is considered safe. If the tracking device 106 isdetermined to be safe, the tracking system 100 may deprioritize, reduce,disable, or prevent notifications generated by the tracking system 100from being sent to the user. If the tracking device 106 is not safe, thetracking system 100 generates and sends a notification to the user 103of the tracking device 106 indicating that the tracking device may belost.

The set of safe conditions can include definitions for one or more safezones. A safe zone may be fixed (e.g., building or landmark), and caninclude a defined geographic boundary, or a geographic location andcorresponding threshold distance (e.g., the safe zone includes alllocations within the threshold distance of the geographic location).Alternatively, a safe zone may be mobile and can include a containerobject (such as a vehicle). A safe zone can be defined based on thepresence of two or more tracking devices being located in the same placeat the same time. A safe zone may be active or enabled only during aparticular time period (e.g., work hours on weekdays, between 5 pm and10 pm on weekends, etc.). When a tracking device 106 is within a safezone (e.g., both geographically and temporally), the set of safeconditions defining the safe zone is determined to be satisfied, and thetracking device 106 is determined to be safe. The set of safe conditionsmay be specific to one or more tracking devices, one or more users, andthe like. For instance, each of a user's tracking devices may beassociated with different sets of safe conditions, or a set of trackingdevices may be associated with the same set of safe conditions.

For a safe zone associated with a fixed geographic boundary or location,if the location of a tracking device 106 is within the geographicboundary or within a threshold distance of the geographic location, thetracking device 106 is determined to be safe. For a mobile safe zone, ifthe location of the tracking device 106 is within a threshold distanceof the location of the container object associated with the mobile safezone, the tracking device is determined to be safe. A container objectcan be an object that can contain (e.g., secure) a tracking device 106(such as a vehicle), or can be an object that moves in conjunction withthe tracking device (such as a bicycle). For example, a tracking device106 may be placed within a car with GPS capabilities. The GPS of the carcan provide the location associated with the car, and a user's mobiledevice can provide the location of the tracking device 106. If thelocation of the tracking device 106 is within a threshold distance ofthe GPS location associated with the car, the tracking device 106 can bedetermined to be in the car and therefore safe. For a safe zone formedby two tracking devices, a tracking device 106 is determined to be safeif it is within a threshold distance of the location of another trackingdevice within a certain time. For example, a tracking device could beattached to a boat slip, and the tracking device 106 may be attached toa sailboat. If the tracking device 106 attached to the sailboat islocated within the threshold distance of the tracking device attached tothe boat slip at a certain time, the tracking device 106 is consideredsafe. In another example, a tracking device could be attached to orlocated inside a container object such as a vehicle to help identify thesafe zone associated with the vehicle. If the safe zone furthercomprises a time window, the tracking device 106 must also be within thethreshold distance of the geographic location or container object duringthe associated time window to be determined safe.

A safe zone may be user defined. A user 103 may define one or more safezones, such as a user's home or office, and can define geographicboundaries or geographic locations and corresponding distancesassociated with the safe zones. A user 103 can enable or disable safeconditions for a particular tracking device 106. In one embodiment, auser interface manager 302 may allow a user 103 to input a geographiclocation (e.g., street address or GPS coordinates). The geographiclocation may be associated with a point location (e.g., approximate orexact GPS coordinates) and/or an area (e.g., default area associatedwith geographic location, building footprint, or some indication ofproperty boundary), and a default or user-defined threshold distancethat defines either a circular area from the point location or athreshold distance from the perimeter of the area associated with thegeographic location. Alternatively, the safe zone may be defined as ageographic boundary. For example, a user interface manager 302 may allowa user 103 to input one or more geographic locations to define ageographic boundary of a safe zone. Additionally, the user interfacemanager 302 may allow a user to specify a time window associated witheach safe zone.

Alternatively, the tracking system 100 may identify one or morecandidate safe zones based on historical time and location data of atracking device 106. For example, a first candidate safe zone can beidentified based on historical location data of the tracking device 106from 10 PM to 6 AM (e.g., within the user's home) and a second candidatesafe zone can be identified based on historical location data of thetracking device 106 from 8 AM to 5 PM on weekdays (e.g., within theuser's office). The tracking system 100 can present identified candidatesafe zones to a user, and the user can select one or more of thecandidate safe zones for use in determining whether a tracking device issafe. Alternatively, the tracking system 100 can apply candidate safezones for use in determining whether a tracking device is safe withoutexplicit authorization from the user.

In one embodiment, when a tracking device 106 is determined to be lost,the tracking system 100 sends a silent push notification to a clientdevice to wake up and scan for the tracking device 106. The trackingsystem 100 may use modeling techniques such as ensemble modeling withsafe zones to determine whether the tracking device 106 is lost andwhether to scan for it. For example, the tracking system 100 maydetermine that the client device is located in a safe zone for thetracking device 106 and will not send a silent push notification to theclient device because the probability that the tracking device 106 is inthe safe zone is either reduced or zero. Battery consumption can bereduced for the client device by the tracking system 100 by not sendinga silent push notification to the client device to wake up and scan forthe tracking device 106.

The tracking system 100 informs the user 103 when a tracking device 106is determined to be lost. However, it is undesirable to unnecessarilyinform the user that a tracking device 106 may be lost when the trackingdevice 106 is not in fact lost. In one embodiment, a safe zone ortracking device is associated with an extension time period and anextension distance (for instance, a default or user-defined extensiontime period and extension distance). When the tracking device 106 leavesthe safe zone, the tracking device 106 may trigger a timer. The timercounts the amount of time the tracking device 106 is outside the safezone. If the timer exceeds the extension time period (i.e., the trackingdevice 106 does not return to a safe zone within the extension timeperiod, such as 30 seconds or 60 seconds), a notification may be sent tothe user that the tracking device 106 may be lost. Likewise, when thetracking device 106 leaves the safe zone, a notification can be sent tothe user that the tracking device 106 may be lost if the tracking device106 moves more than the extension distance away from the safe zone. Inone embodiment, a safe zone or tracking device 106 is associated with adelay time (for instance, a default or user-defined delay time). Thedelay time may be based on the type of tracking device and itsimportance to the user. For example, objects of greater importance mayhave shorter delay time. The delay time may be based on a distance ofthe tracking device 106 from a safe zone, an amount of time the trackingdevice 106 has been outside the safe zone, or some combination thereof.For example, greater distances away from the safe zone may be associatedwith shorter delay times, and vice versa. The tracking system 100 sendsa notification to the user that the tracking device 106 may be lostafter the delay time has elapsed.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example safe zone environment for trackingdevices, according to one embodiment. The tracking device 614 (e.g.,attached to a user's passport) is located within safe zone 612associated with a user's home 610. The safe zone 612 is a fixed circularsafe zone associated with a geographic location and correspondingthreshold distance from the geographic location. The tracking device 634(e.g., attached to a user's keys) is located within a mobile safe zone626 of a user's vehicle 630. The tracking device 624 is located withinthe fixed safe zone 622 of parking lot 620 which is outside the mobilesafe zone 626 of a user's vehicle 630. The tracking device 624 (e.g.,attached to a user's keys) may be determined to be lost if outside of atime period associated with the safe zone (e.g., a time during which theuser has left the parking lot 620 and has entered the office 640).Alternatively, if the tracking device 624 is attached to a user's bike,the tracking device 624 may be determined to be safe if located withinthe safe zone 622 of the parking lot 620 during normal work hours. Thetracking device 644 (e.g., attached to a user's briefcase) is withinsafe zone 642 of the office 640. Tracking device 654 (e.g., attached toa user's wallet) is outside any safe zone, and is determined to be lost.Although not shown, each safe zone may also have an associated timewindow. For example, tracking device 624 (e.g., attached to a user'sbike) may be determined to be safe only during the hours of 8 AM and 5PM in the safe zone 622 of the parking lot 620. If the tracking device624 is found in safe zone 622 outside the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM, thebike is considered not safe and thus potentially lost.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a process for locating a trackingdevice, according to one embodiment. Alternate embodiments may containmore, fewer, or different steps, or the steps may be performed in anorder different from the order shown in FIG. 7.

The tracking system 100 receives 700 a location of a tracking device anda time associated with the received location (e.g., a time that thelocation of the tracking device was determined). The tracking system 100determines 710 if the tracking device satisfies a set of safe conditionsbased on the location of the tracking device. In some embodiments,determining if the tracking device satisfies the set of safe conditionsis further based on the received time. If the set of safe conditions issatisfied, the tracking system 100 can identify the tracking device assafe and thus 715 deprioritizes, reduces, disables, or preventsnotifications about the status of the tracking device from being sent toa user's mobile device. If the set of safe conditions are not satisfied,the tracking system 100 determines that the tracking device is outsideof a safe zone and identifies 720 the tracking device as potentiallylost. The tracking system 100 generates 730 a notification identifyingthe tracking device and indicating that the tracking device ispotentially lost, and provides 740 the generated notification to theuser's mobile device. In some embodiments, the notification includes thereceived location of the tracking device.

The tracking system 100 may generate a user interface for display by aclient device, including a representation whether a tracking device 106is located in a safe zone. The representation can include an icon and/orcolor based on whether the tracking device satisfies a set of safeconditions (e.g., a first icon and/or color associated with a trackingdevice satisfying the set of safe conditions, a second icon and/or colorassociated with a tracking device not satisfying the set of safeconditions, a third icon and/or color associated with a tracking devicebeing outside of a safe zone but for less than an amount of time equalto an extension time, etc.). In one embodiment, the user interfacemanager 302 may display a safe zone status for all tracking devices of auser on the mobile device 102. The colors or icons included within auser interface can also vary based on a type of tracking device and/orsafety zone associated with the tracking device (e.g., a “home” icon fortracking devices at home, a “work” icon for tracking devices work, etc).

Additional Considerations

The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedisclosure.

Any of the devices or systems described herein can be implemented by oneor more computing devices. A computing device can include a processor, amemory, a storage device, an I/O interface, and a communicationinterface, which may be communicatively coupled by way of communicationinfrastructure. Additional or alternative components may be used inother embodiments. In particular embodiments, a processor includeshardware for executing computer program instructions by retrieving theinstructions from an internal register, an internal cache, or othermemory or storage device, and decoding and executing them. The memorycan be used for storing data or instructions for execution by theprocessor. The memory can be any suitable storage mechanism, such asRAM, ROM, flash memory, solid state memory, and the like. The storagedevice can store data or computer instructions, and can include a harddisk drive, flash memory, an optical disc, or any other suitable storagedevice. The I/O interface allows a user to interact with the computingdevice, and can include a mouse, keypad, keyboard, touch screeninterface, and the like. The communication interface can includehardware, software, or a combination of both, and can provide one ormore interfaces for communication with other devices or entities.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of theinvention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations ofoperations on information. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are commonly used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively toothers skilled in the art. These operations, while describedfunctionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits,microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient attimes, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, withoutloss of generality. The described operations and their associatedmodules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or anycombinations thereof.

Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may beperformed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules,alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, asoftware module is implemented with a computer program productcomprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code,which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or allof the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise ageneral-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfiguredby a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer programmay be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storagemedium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification mayinclude a single processor or may be architectures employing multipleprocessor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that isproduced by a computing process described herein. Such a product maycomprise information resulting from a computing process, where theinformation is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readablestorage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer programproduct or other data combination described herein.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodimentsof the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, ofthe scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for locating a tracking device of auser, comprising: receiving, by a tracking system from a first mobiledevice, a location of the tracking device configured to operate in anormal operating mode; determining, by the tracking system, a set ofsafe zone boundaries based on one or more safe zone criteria, the safezone boundaries defining a safe zone, wherein the safe zone boundariesare associated with a time interval; and in response to determining thatthe received location of the tracking device is within the safe zoneboundaries during the time interval, configuring the tracking device tooperate in a safe zone operating mode.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe safe zone boundaries are defined based on a history of behavior ofthe tracking device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are defined by a threshold distance from a geographiclocation.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the safe zone boundaries arebased on a location of another tracking device.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the safe zone boundaries are defined by a user of thetracking device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are defined without input from a user of the tracking device.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the time interval is selected based ona historic behavior of the tracking device.
 8. A tracking system forlocating a tracking device of a user, comprising: a processor; and anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executinginstructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform stepscomprising: receiving, from a first mobile device, a location of thetracking device configured to operate in a normal operating mode;determining a set of safe zone boundaries based on one or more safe zonecriteria, the safe zone boundaries defining a safe zone, wherein thesafe zone boundaries are associated with a time interval; and inresponse to determining that the received location of the trackingdevice is within the safe zone boundaries during the time interval,configuring the tracking device to operate in a safe zone operatingmode.
 9. The tracking system of claim 8, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are defined based on a history of behavior of the trackingdevice.
 10. The tracking system of claim 8, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are defined by a threshold distance from a geographiclocation.
 11. The tracking system of claim 8, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are based on a location of another tracking device.
 12. Thetracking system of claim 8, wherein the safe zone boundaries are definedby a user of the tracking device.
 13. The tracking system of claim 8,wherein the safe zone boundaries are defined without input from a userof the tracking device.
 14. The tracking system of claim 8, wherein thetime interval is selected based on a historic behavior of the trackingdevice.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storingexecutable computer instructions that, when executed by a hardwareprocessor of a tracking system, cause the hardware processor to performsteps, comprising: receiving, by a tracking system from a first mobiledevice, a location of the tracking device configured to operate in anormal operating mode; determining, by the tracking system, a set ofsafe zone boundaries based on one or more safe zone criteria, the safezone boundaries defining a safe zone, wherein the safe zone boundariesare associated with a time interval; and in response to determining thatthe received location of the tracking device is within the safe zoneboundaries during the time interval, configuring the tracking device tooperate in a safe zone operating mode.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are defined based on a history of behavior of the trackingdevice.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim15, wherein the safe zone boundaries are defined by a threshold distancefrom a geographic location.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein the safe zone boundaries are basedon a location of another tracking device.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the safe zoneboundaries are defined by a user of the tracking device.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the timeinterval is selected based on a historic behavior of the trackingdevice.